Republican leadership in the House of Representatives is mounting a strong effort to force a floor vote on the "SAVE" Act (H.R. 4088). SAF has called the passage of the SAVE Act an "act of war" against agriculture. SAF is urging members to e-mail or call your Representative to urge that he or she not sign the "Discharge Petition" to bring the SAVE Act to the floor.

SAF Senior Director of Government Relations, Lin Schmale says that the SAVE Act addresses only one part of our immigration crisis — the enforcement part. "As 'enforcement only,'" Schmale points out, "it would deprive agriculture (and other industries) of workers without giving them a way to address the labor shortage and without addressing our overall immigration problem."

Schmale adds that the SAVE Act would require employers to use the unproven electronic verification system to verify the Social Security numbers of all current workers as well as of new hires. "SAF does not believe the electronic verification system is ready for that load, which will leave you, as an employer, in jeopardy," Schmale says.

On Tuesday, Republicans filed a "Discharge Petition," which is available on the House floor for all House members to sign. Once the Discharge Petition receives 217 signatures (a majority of the House membership), House rules require that it be brought to the floor for an up-or-down vote.

Schmale says this strategy is dangerous for supporters of immigration reform, in that it could force members to vote "for" the bill or appear to be "against" enforcement. "But enforcement is just one of the three essential components of immigration reform — finding a way to retain the estimated 1.2 million agriculture workers here without proper documentation, and reforming the current unusable H-2A program are not included in the SAVE Act, nor will they likely be addressed separately in the current Congressional session," Schmale says. SAF's position is that immigration reform must include all three components: earned legalization, reform of the H-2A program, and reasonable and practical enforcement mechanisms.

The SAVE Act currently has 141 cosponsors, including several conservative Democrats. "It is important that you contact your representative now to voice your opposition to the SAVE Act," Schmale says, by going to www.safnow.org and clicking on "Write to Congress" for a letter that can be modified and personalized and then e-mailed to your Representative.

For additional information, contact Lin Schmale, lschmale@safnow.org, or Brian Freedman, bfreedman@safnow.org.

 
--Drew Gruenburg
dgruenburg@safnow.org

 

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